From supposedly nine medal hopefuls to just three, Ghana’s boxing journey at the 2022 Commonwealth Games has been far from impressive, with the country’s hopes of winning a medal in boxing now resting on the shoulders of three boxers who have done well to make the quarter-final stage.
The Ghana Boxing Federation [GBF] named nine boxers to represent Ghana at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The boxers included eight male boxers and one female boxer selected to be part of Ghana’s amateur boxing team, the Black Bombers, under experienced head coach Ofori Asare.
How 6 boxers lost their fights.
Ghana’s only female boxer who is a PhD holder, Dr Ornella Sathoud was the first casualty as she lost by a unanimous decision to English female boxer Kerry Davis in the middleweight contest.
One of the biggest heartbreaks was the light heavyweight boxer, Shakul Samed, whose journey at the games ended after he failed a doping test and was banned from the competition.
Samuel Yaw Addo whose inclusion in the team was heavily challenged, suffered a 2-3 defeat at the hands of Northern Ireland’s Clepson Antonio Dos Santos and missed out on a quarter-final berth.
Abubakar Quartey was the 3rd boxer to exit the games as he lost by a 2-3 split decision to Nigeria’s Adeyinka Benson in their middleweight contest.
Alfred Kotey also failed to make it to the quarter-final as he lost to Indian boxer Rohit Tokas by 5-0 in their welterweight bout on Tuesday, August 2nd.
Light-middleweight boxer Jessie Lartey, who was Ghana’s hope of winning a medal at the games, also crashed out to Mohammed Harris of England as he lost 5-0 on points.
Ghana’s last three men in boxing
One of Ghana’s medal hopefuls at the games will start his campaign against Sri Lanka opponent Rukmal Prasanna in the Bantamweight Division on August 4th. Mensah will automatically enter the medal zone if he edges out his opponent and makes it to the semi-final.
The 18-year-old, who has boxing running through his veins, has proven beyond doubt that he is ready to win a medal at the games. Born into a family of boxers, Commey has made it to the quarter-finals defeating Kiribati boxer Betero Aaree in the round of 32. He earned a Round 2 knockout over Allan Oaike Papua New Guinea. Commey has set up a bout against New Zealand boxer Alex Mukuka in the quarter-finals of the Featherweight contest.
As one of the experienced boxers in the team, Wahib Omar has lived to the billing this time and is one step away from winning a historic medal. Omar defeated Jamie Devine from Isle of Man by 4-1 on points. In the round of 16 stages, Omar wasted no time as he earned a Round 1 K.O over Fiji boxer Elia Rokobuli. The boxer is now set to face Alston Ryan of Antigua and Barbuda on Wednesday, August 3rd, in the quarter-final clash.
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Source: Ghanaweb